Students at Searles Elementary and Cabello Elementary Schools in Union City will learn about marine science in an exciting new way, through the eyes and perceptions of their teachers, Vince Rosato and Kimberly Pratt. Rosato, a fifth-grade teacher at Searles Elementary, and Pratt, a fifth-grade teacher at Cabello Elementary, will be getting first-hand research experience aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research ship as part of NOAA's Teacher at Sea program.

Rosato and Pratt are sailing aboard the 274-ft. NOAA oceanographic and atmospheric research ship Ronald H. Brown, March 9 to March 28 from Bridgetown, Barbados, to work with scientists as they research water mass properties in the Straits of Florida and east of Abaco Island, Bahamas. The data is used to gather crucial information for studying the effect of water mass on climate.

While on board, Rosato and Pratt will take pictures and write logs that include information about the research being conducted on the ship and interviews with scientists and crew. The logs will be posted on NOAA's Teacher at Sea website, where students can follow their activities. Students and others can also email questions about the voyage to them.

The enthusiasm for learning generated between teachers and students is the biggest payoff of NOAA's Teacher at Sea program, where teachers from kindergarten through college sail aboard NOAA hydrographic, oceanographic and fisheries research vessels to work under the tutelage of scientists and crew.